Canyonlands National Park

Welcome to Canyonlands!

Canyonlands preserves a colorful landscape
eroded into countless canyons, mesas and buttes by the Colorado
River and its tributaries. The rivers divide the park into four
districts: the Island in the Sky, the Needles, the Maze and the
rivers themselves. While these areas share a primitive desert
atmosphere, each retains its own character and offers different
opportunities for exploration.

People
People have visited what is now Canyonlands National Park for over
10,000 years. Over time, many different groups have moved in and out
of the area in concert with the availability of natural resources
and the technology for exploiting those resources.

Stories
The rich and colorful history of Canyonlands is perhaps best told by
the individuals who witnessed it. As told by cowboys, scientists,
park rangers, and former government officials, these stories paint
vivid pictures of canyon country and all the characters that have
called it home.

Picnic Area

Elephant Hill

Orange Cliffs Overlook

Pothole Point

Whale Rock

Nature

Canyonlands National Park preserves one of the
last, relatively undisturbed areas of the Colorado Plateau, a
geological province that encompasses much of the Colorado River and
its tributaries. Carved out of vast sedimentary rock deposits, this
landscape of canyons, mesas, and deep river gorges possesses
remarkable natural features that are part of a unique desert
ecosystem.

The foundation of Canyonlands' ecology is its
remarkable geology, which is visible everywhere in cliff profiles
that reveal millions of years of deposition and erosion. These rock
layers continue to shape life in Canyonlands today, as their erosion
influences elemental features like soil chemistry and where water
flows when it rains.

Known as a "high desert," with
elevations ranging from 3,700 to 7,200 feet above sea level,
Canyonlands experiences very hot summers, cold winters and less than
ten inches of rain each year. Even on a daily basis, temperatures
may fluctuate as much as 50 degrees.